We were fortunate to catch up with some brilliant artists, creatives and entrepreneurs from throughout the Houston area and they share the wisdom with us below.

Amanda Hodder | Amanda Hodder | Founder-President & Mother

Each year almost 3 million cats and dogs are euthanized in animal shelters around the country. America is in an overpopulation crisis that gets worse every year. Animal shelters are overwhelmed and lack the resources to provide for every single animal that comes through their doors. Our business’s purpose is to directly impact these numbers and help lower the overwhelming amount of animals that are in need and being euthanized. Read more>>

Rachel Dick | Registered Nurse and Creative Recovery Coach

I picture people gathered around at my funeral. There is sadness in the air, a life cut short.

“She was too young to die.” I can hear them saying. “Gone too soon.”

There’s a huge photo of me up front, my favorite picture ever taken of me. From that magical day on the beach when my essence was captured by my photographer with his little camera and artist’s touch. I am smiling up at the sky, in Warrior I, my right hand reaching for the heavens, my left hand wrapped behind the small of my back. My colorful dress is billowing in the wind. The sky is perfect, the water is perfect, the clouds are perfect. That picture is the epitome of me. Read more>>

Frockyoupayme | Wardrobe Stylist

Community. Without it, my work wouldn’t mean anything. It’s the opportunity to share with others and platform local and smaller designers/brands that makes this work fulfilling for me. Read more>>

Jazmine Valencia | President of JV Agency

The most important factor behind the success of JV Agency and my personal journey as its president has been a relentless commitment to fostering authentic connections. In an industry that thrives on relationships, we’ve prioritized understanding the unique needs and goals of our artists, while staying attuned to cultural trends and shifts that shape the larger landscape. Read more>>

May Riddle | Entrepreneur & Cake Designer

The amount of time spent making a cake. From prepping your ingredients, to actually baking the cake and then designing and decorating. It can really take hours. Read more>>

Omar Rojas | Caterer

The Importance of trial and error. Read more>>

Anna Kolobova | Photographer / Videographer

I was born in Ukraine. Since childhood, my dream was to become a photographer, but my parents believed it wasn’t a serious profession. However, on my 15th birthday, they gave me my first DSLR camera. With it, I went to the capital when I enrolled in university to study programming. My career started when, during my final year of university, I dropped out and, together with my now-husband, bought one-way tickets to the Dominican Republic. He became a videographer to work alongside me. There, over the next two years, we filmed around a thousand weddings. Read more>>

Fatima Khan | Event Stylist

I never pictured myself in a traditional 9-to-5 job. At 19, I started a cake designing business with my friends called Simply Sweets. It quickly gained more attention than we anticipated, which pushed us to learn the ins and outs of running a business and managing orders ourselves. I worked on that for about 10 years. Read more>>

Justine Vargo | Brand Designer

Oh, work-life balance—the phrase we all hear, but honestly, does anyone ever really figure it out? As a mom of three babies under three (yes, you read that right, three under three), and the owner of a creative design business helping women entrepreneurs and small businesses build their dream logos and websites, balance feels more like a daily dance than a set routine. Read more>>